Seemed like a good idea at the time.

Surrender, Dorothy: Reviews Disclosure

This is a review blog, not a personal blog. Marketers send me products for free, and I agree to review them. Sometimes they offer me a small fee for my time. This fee covers my time, but it doesn't buy a positive review. My time is valuable, and there are many other income-producing ways I could spend it. I choose to do reviews because I believe they have value in our culture.
I don't review food anymore. I rarely review music. I don't review games unless they are educational. I mostly focus on books (picture and adult), clothing (baby through adult), services, tools, and home improvement items.
I don't print the press release. Please do not send me a press release. If I review your product, it might not be favorable. I don't return review products because I don't have an assistant to drive them to the post office and stand in that crazy line. I'm not a big corporation; I'm just a normal person with a limited amount of time.
Please, readers, do not be confused: I did not buy anything you are reading about here. I didn't just stumble into Wal-Mart and say, "OMG, I MUST HAVE IT." Somebody sent it to me and asked me to write about it. So I did.
I can be reached at ritajarens@gmail.com.

Some Kind of Samson (Short Story) for NOOKIn the short story "Some Kind of Samson," Jennifer's childhood friend Gail develops cancer, forever changing their relationship and forcing Jennifer to experience the ambiguity of endings.

October 13, 2008

Scratch Beginnings: Me, $25 and the Search for the American Dream

Talk about your page-turners. Adam Shepherd stepped off a bus in South Carolina with literally $25 and a sleeping bag. His plan was to end the year with $2,500 in savings, a furnished apartment and a working car.

I have to say, the kid's crazy. And he's not a great writer. But what GONADS. And to pull off such an amazing experiment in order to document something in which you believe -- that has my applause.

What struck me most about Shepherd's writing was it so clearly echoed what must be his personality -- a mixture of laser focus with an endearing earnestness that made me both fear him and want to take him home and feed him some chocolate cake. I read this book on two plane rides - it was a total page-turner. I recommend it for anyone who's lost faith in the American dream.